Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-06-10

lans first disappointment. He began the
march up the Peninsula April 4, 1862. His
army was divided into two columns, right
and left The right marched up along York
river toward Yorktown, under Gen. Heint-
lehman. The left, commanded by Gen. Reyes,
followed the James river up toward Williams
burg. BY following the line of march upon
the map, the course of the two columns will
he clear keyes was to proceed as rapidly as
might be on the west and occupy Halfway
House, point on the narrow dividing ridge
which formed the watershed between the
York and James rivers He was to halt here
and by all means prevent either the escape of
the Confederate garrison at Yorktown or the
throwing in of reenforcements to them.
keyes was expected to reach Halfway
House April 8. But he did not. The two
months rain of the spring of 1862 began as
the Federal army began to move. The roads
became at some points impossible for artil-
lery.
Another thing: In all the years that the
United States had been country there never
had been an accurate map made of this part
of Virginia. OF the region Immediately in
front of Heintzelmans column there was no
better map than the one made when the Brit
ish besieged Yorktown in 1881. A govern
ment survey of the Peninsula had been
made in 1918, but later than that there was
nothing to go by
The land before McClellan's army was an
unknown region of swamp, with rain pour
ing night and day, and lines of heavy Con-
federate Notifications between it and Rich
mond. OF all this the two advancing col
umns knew nothing, except just that it
rained That was plain enough.
,N-nE Il l,,l ,,,;la
countered the Confederate Notifications at
Lees Mills and stopped. Seven miles below
Yorktown there was line of Notifications
quite across the solid ground of the Peninsula,
which, between the head of Warwick river
and York river, narrowed to three miles
Besides thst the Confederates had damned
the deep creeks flowing into the James and
Warwick rivers, which had backed the water
into impenetrable boys.
The Confederate army of the Peninsula was
under the immediate command of Gen. j.
Bankhead Magruder. He had prepared or
begun three lines of fertilization across the
Peninsula. The first one was seven miles
below Yorktown. While Mcclellan had
been equipping his army and getting "good
ready" at Washington, the Confederates had
been fortifying between him and Richmond
1t was the Warwick river and the fortfica-
tons along its course which stopped McClel-
lan's army, both Heintzelman on the right
and Keyes on the left. This river on the
maps Mcclellan had access to flowed parallel
with those rivers, nearly southeast. In
reality it flowed across the Peninsula between
the rivers.
1t made formidable barrier, fortified as it
was. Keyes' column stopped at Lees Mills,
on the Warwick, and encamped there.
Heintzelmans column approached nearer
Yorktown, where it was also stopped by the
| Warwick. This was Magruders second and
most important line of Notifications. The
! first had been abandoned March |. The old
| line of Notifications thrown up by the British
in 1871 Lad been revived by Magruder. Along
/ the line of the Warwick, stretched across the
Peninsula, were II 600 Confederates, and this
was the force opposed to Mcclellan with his
army Of So, 900 men.
President Lincoln kept dispatching to him
to strike blow" Magruder expected an
attack. His troops lay upon their arms in
the trenches several days awaiting the attack.
Opposite where McClellan's army lay, near